✔Kin of the Curse (Book 1: Bloodbound Chronicles)

12. Sweets and Fangs

Nerves churned in the pit of Lucien's stomach when the Supernatural Council's detectives waltz through the front door like they owned the place. The two older men wore their standard navy frockcoats, wands and guns holstered at their hips. The council's crest of the scales of justice were pinned to their left breast pockets, bordered by gold trim.

"What an unpleasant surprise to see you again, bloodsucker." Orick Mandrake towered over Sebastian and pointed his wand at him before the vampire could dare make a move. "I thought I told you I better not see you in my town ever again."

"Your town?" Sebastian raised a brow.

"Sebastian is my friend and I invited him to my family's shop," Castor said. "We don't discriminate against our customers."

Orick tilted his head in Castor's direction, lips curled in a disgusted snarl. "Your folks must be pretty damn desperate if you need bloodsucking vermin to make money."

"Last I heard, you suffered an injury to your right leg during one of your famous hunts so your family wed you off to the Mandrake family. Guess they wanted to salvage some dignity to their forgotten namesake. Hell, are there even any Lemontree's left in Briarwood?" Sebastian sneered.

Orick came dangerously close to hexing poor Sebastian, or perhaps worse, until Lucien intervened.

"Forgive me, sir, but what brings you detectives this morning?"

"An update in your sister's case. We believe a vampire is behind her tragic death, but during our investigation, we've found traces of black magic out in the woods near our border and Nevermourn's. Not just any kind of black magic though. An unidentified source of hellfire mixed with only Gods knows what else."

"You can't think Castor or his family are responsible for that," Lucien said incredulously. "Seriously, I spent the night at their house. None of them ever left."

"Lucien, you really need to invest in better friends." Orick shook his head. "What do your folks think about this, huh? Castor was one thing, but a bloodsucker? There's an old saying my dad used to tell me. Hang around shit long enough and the smell starts to stick to ya. Do you want that for your career with the council?"

"Don't speak ill of them as if they're not in the same room as us." Lucien tightened his fists at his sides, inhaling a sharp breath as his heartbeat pounded in his chest.

"You were spotted a few nights ago riding with Castor on his broom into Nevermourn." Orick twirled a finger around his wooly worm of a mustache. "How do you think that'll look on you? You need to be honest about what's going on with the Vale family and their use of hellfire."

Panic pulsed through Lucien. They couldn't obtain enough evidence to hold Castor or any of his family, right? Surely they'd try to detect traces of magical residue to compare it or at least build a stronger case with witnesses.

"You don't understand." Lucien bit down on his lower lip until a coppery tang lingered on his tongue. "I asked Castor to take me out to Nevermourn last night."

Orick frowned. "Why?"

Lucien moved over to Sebastian and tilted his chin upward, meeting his very confused gaze. Impulse guided him to lean down, kissing the vampire on the lips. When he felt Sebastian's tongue in his mouth, he knew he'd tasted the bit of blood. Just like he wanted him to. Vampires always responded eagerly to their lover's intimacy, and Lucien needed to create the lustful illusion.

When he pulled back, Sebastian's eyes clouded with bloodlust. Castor had warned him how vampires sometimes lost control when their cravings got too intense, and Lucien was certainly playing with fire. He couldn't deny how much he was enjoying it either.